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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Favola is a fairly new Italian restaurant in Le Meridien (taking over where Al Nafourah used to be). As it is part of the Starwood hotels, we decided to make full use of my friend Verena's membership card*:(*One person's meal is discounted in the meal - most "worth it" when it's 2 people dining)

Favola...

The decor in Favola has a touch of whimsy and fantasy, with classic stark black and white tiles contrasted with wall to wall murals and playful carnival masks:(I guess it all plays into the name, Favola, which means fable in Italian)

Inside Favola...

Can you believe that one of my highlights for the night was the bread? (free!):

Carbs are so good...

As expected of any reputable high end restaurant, Favola offers a range of different breads to start your meal. While the bread(s) were fairly normal actually, one of the 3 dips they served with it ROCKED. *drool*

I think it was fluffed up butter with truffle oil added?... Anyway, it was DIVINE. (DIVINE, I tells ya!)

To start, we tried the Bresaola (RM 35++) - Air dried beef slices with fresh fig:

Dried beef...

The thin slices of beef were salty, paired with tender, sweet fig and spicy rocket leaves. Not everyone may enjoy it but it was definitely an interesting dish.

Next up, the Stuffed Mussels (RM 35++):

Mussels in a bowl...

Slightly fishy taste, but otherwise it was ok - I liked the fragrant tomato broth it came with.

Overall this tasted pretty good - a hearty dish of moist but al dente risotto bursting with woody mushroom and slight truffle flavour. (May be a bit jelak after a while as most, if not all, risottos are)

We also tried the Lasagna Al-Forno (RM 45++) - Wagyu Lasagna:

The lasagna...

Um. This was supposed to be gloriously tender chunks of wagyu baked into a hearty, cheese-y lasagna... but it fell short of expectations.... :((Was kinda oily.... and not really very meaty...)(So sorry for recommending this to you Rizal!)

Last of the mains - the Osso bucco (RM 80++):

Meaty dish...

Overall ok. Bursting with flavour but strangely, a bit chewy at the same time. (The accompanying mashed potatoes with truffle oil and a dash of caviar was really nice though)

As for dessert, we tried the Budina di Chocolat (RM 25++) and the Canoli (RM 25++):

The Budina di chocolate...

The Canoli...

Overall both were ok:- the budina di chocolate: moist molten chocolate cake served with ice cream.- the canoli: smooth hazelnut chocolate mousse encased in a dense, slightly crisp pastry.(LOL. We are terrible. We were all giggling about how the Canoli looked kinda "suggestive"...)

So, it's: Friendly staff, good array of classic Italian dishes, nice ambience BUT there are some hits and misses on the menu and can be a bit expensive without the Starwood card.....

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks (but if you have the Starwood card, it can be a lot cheaper)*** Don't forget to get your ticket validated by the front desk, to get a flat rate charge of RM8 (tell them you ate at the restaurant)...

to "Joe" who is constantly craving:Woi. Not because I ordered too much lah. :P

There were quite a few of us that night and generally, I calculate the price per person by adding:- 1 appetiser (RM35++), - 1 dessert (RM 25++), and - an average between the most expensive main (RM 80++) and the cheapest main (RM 40++) but slightly weighted to the amount of cheaper dishes available (so in this case I put it down as RM 50++).

Went there this week, ordered anti-pasti and dessert buffet. Very disappointing. Buffet my foot. There is no buffet line boys and girls, and they bring it to you on a big plate with a variety of 6 anti-pasti suitable for a mouse. And when we asked for re-fills it took them ages as if they do not want to serve you more. The dessert? OMG. If they call that dessert buffet, they must be mad. Only a variety of syrup fruits, crappy tiramisu taste has crappy texture, and no gelato. What a con job IMHO. Not worth a sen. And the mains aren't that great at all. A Very big disappointment.